December 18, 2015

This week: UFC rematches, Reality Talk, Parenting Storytime, and more..

"It wasn't a real fight" - Former featherweight champ Jose Aldo uttered that sour grapes sentiment (via translator) moments after he was on the receiving end of a record-setting KO (fastest in a title fight) at the hands of newly crowned champ Conor McGregor.  Three championship belts have changed hands in the past month (Ronda Rousey, Chris Weidman, and Jose Aldo) and each former champ faces the inevitable question that surfaces after a title fight loss "Do they deserve a rematch?". 

Rematches are tricky business.  UFC President Dana White regularly asserts the position of "we'll give the fans what they want to see".  But rematches tend to be a little more complex than just putting your finger to the wind of Twitter to see "what the fans want".  There are some basic questions White and matchmaker Joe Silva will ask in the coming weeks to determine whether a rematch is justified.  Let's use our recently dethroned champs as the litmus test for the Rematch Conundrum

• "Was it a close fight?" - Weidman got thoroughly dominated by Luke Rockhold and looked completely mangled after the fight.  Rousey certainly lost the first round to Holly Holm and was KO'd in the second.  Aldo lasted two punches and 13 seconds against McGregor.  Weidman: NO  Rousey: NO  Aldo: NO
• "Is there a clear #1 contender waiting their turn?" - Weidman's middleweight division is experiencing a downturn in talent and the undercard of Saturday's PPV featured a very uninspired bout between the #3 and #4 contenders Yoel Romero and Jacare Souza.  And there are no matchups of worthy contenders on the horizon.  The dearth of talent gives Weidman the edge.  Rousey spent the last 3 years laying siege to the Women's Bantamweight division and should have a leg up on the competition for #1 contender.  But new champ Holly Holm already expressed interest in fighting Miesha Tate instead of a Rousey rematch. However, releasing Rousey back into the division to fight her way back would be like letting a velociraptor loose on an emu farm.  It wouldn't be pretty or fair to anyone.  Aldo entered Saturday on an 18-fight winning streak, and similar to Rousey, had been manhandling the entire division since entering the UFC in 2011 with his WEC Featherweight Belt.  But #1 contender and former Lightweight champ Frankie Edgar just completed his sojourn through the division proving his worthiness as the next man in line for a shot at the title.  Weidman: NO  Rousey: NO  Aldo: YES
• "Will it bring a big audience?" - i.e., would the fans pay to see it?  I don't presume to have a finger on the pulse of MMA fans, so I'll stick to my own pulse.  Weidman got overpowered, outwrestled, and beat up but I think the lack of middleweight talent coupled with his unblemished record entering the fight and the presumption that maybe he just had an off night warrants a rematch.  Rousey looked sluggish, lethargic, slow, and other synonyms that mean out-of-shape.  And Holm played her like a fiddle strategically.  I doubt Ronda makes the same mistakes twice and it would be semi-dangerous to expose the rest of the division to her Road to Redemption.  Multiple fighters would get their arms broken.  Put Rousey and Holm in the cage again and let's see what happens.  Aldo's KO loss was such an outlier that I don't envy the UFC brass deliberating the rematch decision.  Its a 50-50 argument.  It wasn't a normal fight, but it was definitely a real fight, Aldo's sour grapes notwithstanding.  McGregor won fair and square and I think Aldo should start a few rungs down the ladder and climb his way back up.  A McGregor vs Edgar matchup would be a pretty easy sell and would certainly pull some strong numbers.  Weidman: YES  Rousey: YES  Aldo: NO

Since the start of 2010, belts have changed hands via force (i.e. a fight) 13 times, and in only three cases was a rematch granted (B.J. Penn, Frankie Edgar, Anderson Silva) and all three lost again in the rematch.  Those are long odds for each of the recently ousted champs, but each of them have unique, compelling cases for a rematch....except for Aldo, I think Aldo's screwed.

Reality Talk: TV Edition - Ever since MTV debuted The Real World in 1992 reality TV has been evolving to fill millions of hours of airtime.  The format of filming 20-somethings in a new city was just the beginning.  In the last 20+ years TV producers have established a spectrum of reality-based TV sub-genres to satiate the appetite of all sorts of fans.  Now, when I say I watch "reality TV" I'm not embarrassed since its more than just The Kardashians and Bad Girls Club.  Here are some of my faves (and maybe your faves, too)

• Survivor and The Amazing Race (both return in Feb, CBS) - Reality competition is a bonafide Emmy category and these two shows are really fun to watch because they constantly have my wife and I asking "would you do that?" and sparking spirited discussion about who would bungee jump off that rickety bridge in Thailand or how would you fare in this immunity challenge.  Jeff Probst and Phil Keoghan are fun hosts and these are just fun shows.  See also: SYTYCD, The Voice, Dancing With the Stars
• Top Chef (Thursday 10pm, Bravo) and Holiday Baking Championship (Sunday 9pm, Food Network) - Cooking competition shows are very popular and these two caught my eye in the last few years.  I've enjoyed seeing how much variety there is in the culinary world.  I eat pork chops and brownies, but these people cook salmon carpaccio and triple pastry cream croquembouche.  Its fascinating to watch and the judges are entertaining with their critiques.  I actually like that they take it so seriously; it SHOULD be that way.  See also: Chopped, The Great Food Truck Race, Iron Chef America
• The Profit (Tuesday 10pm, CNBC) and Shark Tank (Friday 10pm, ABC) - Reality investment shows are popping up everywhere with the success of Shark Tank.  The Profit is, by far, my favorite.  After three seasons of that show I'm only 4 credits short of my MBA.  I could easily run a Fortune 500 company.....into the ground.  Marcus Lemonis is likable, genuine, fair, savvy, smart, and innovative.  He makes me want to have a failing business just so he can come save it.  Shark Tank has slowly evolved from fringe Friday night filler TV to credible, legitimate American institution.  Its not a punchline anymore rather an exercise in the spirit of American entrepreneurship and ingenuity finding a way to succeed.  Aside: If you watch the episode where Nick Woodman guest-Sharks, keep count of every time he says "You know, when I started GoPro...".  That phrase floated around our house quite a bit after that episode anytime we wanted to humblebrag: [got the boy to sleep on the first try] "You know, when I started GoPro..".  See also: Restaurant Startup, Blue Collar Millionaire, All-American Makers
• Nightwatch (Thursday, A&E 10pm) - Reality crime dramas have been around longer than The Real World and this Dick Wolf-produced docudrama follows the EMT, Fire & Rescue and Police Officers of New Orleans as they work the night shift in a city renowned for lively, raucous crowds.  It pushes the envelope of that age-old disclaimer "Viewer Discretion is Advised", so watch at your own risk.  The characters are very likable and engaging and its inspiring to see such unsung heroes in action.  See also: COPS, Jail, The First 48
• House Hunters (every other hour on HGTV) - Truthfully I don't watch House Hunters much anymore, but it gave rise to dozens of imitators like Buying Alaska, Buying the Rockies, Lakefront Bargain Hunt which I watch semi-regularly.  Shows like these allow you to experience the excitement of house shopping without the added pressure of signing paperwork at the end of the episode.  

Other shows worth a look: Treehouse Masters, Tanked, Redwood Kings, Fixer Upper, Property Brothers, Income Property, Pawn Stars

FAKE!!! Watch with a scrutinizing eye: Mystery Diners, Bar Rescue, South Beach Tow, Operation Repo, Hardcore Pawn

Things we learned this week:

• Russell Westbrook hit this insane buzzer beater
• My Mom shared this Uptown Funk fused with Ginger Rogers-era dance numbers.  It was awesome
• This Dad watching Star Wars with his son for the first time was really sweet
• #adeletickets had me crying laughing with all of the shared experiences of coping with loss and disappointment.  

Parenting Storytime - Henry had the sniffles this week bad enough to warrant staying home from school.  He spent his week slaloming from energized and active to lethargic and cranky.  One of his crankier periods was spent sitting on the couch slowly eating his new favorite snack, Ritz Crackers with Nutella.  I spread a thin layer of that hazelnut chocolaty goodness between two Honey Wheat Ritz and he takes approximately 13 bites to eat it.  We were sitting side-by-side on our loveseat and he's working on bite #7 and I hear a sneeze.  All of bite #7's and most of bite #6's contents now look like Martian kitty litter sprayed all over his left arm.  Henry noticed the tablespoon of green blobulous snot hanging precariously from his nose one second before I did and wiped his left arm across his face making a guacomole kitty litter chutney that had me scrambling to find the nearest towel to spare my leather couch from a disgustingly sticky future.  Couch: Saved.  Towel: Steam-cleaned